Justice League: Fall of Atlantis
by jasonstoneface
Summary: Atlantis is under attack and only the Justice League can save them. But are they too late?


Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Justice League. DC Comics does. So don't sue.  
  
Author's Note: This is based on the Justice League Animated Series.  
  
Justice League: Fall of Atlantis  
  
Orm, Aquaman's evil half-brother, now known as the Ocean Master, was standing on the surface of a small island. He was expecting a visitor. Soon a boom tube opened and out stepped Steppenwolf, one of Darkseid's minions. The Ocean Master asked, "Is my army ready?"  
  
"Yes," answered Steppenwolf. "Lord Darkseid is having them sent to your hideout even as we speak."  
  
The Ocean Master smiled cruelly and said, "Good. If I can't rule Atlantis, no one can. I'm going to strike my brother where it hurts the most: through the ones he loves. And if the Atlanteans don't bow down to me, then I'll simply destroy Atlantis and its people." He then laughed an evil laugh.  
  
Back in Atlantis, Orin, better known to the world as Aquaman, was sitting on his throne. He was thinking about the events that had happened since Orm initially tried to take his kingdom from him. His adventures in and beyond Atlantis, his occasional alliance with the Justice League. But what hurt him the most were the tragedies. Namely, the death of his baby son at the hands of Black Manta, which resulted in his marriage to Mera falling apart. She was still Queen, but she didn't want anything to do with him. It made him sad to think about it, even though he tried not to show it.  
  
But he was pulled out of his reverie when a voice called, "My lord!"  
  
Aquaman looked up and saw one of his generals running towards him. "What is it?" asked the King of Atlantis.  
  
"There's an invasion force of robots heading this way. It's being led by the Ocean Master."  
  
"Orm," snarled a frowning Aquaman. "How many?"  
  
"A hundred thousand strong, at least."  
  
He stood up from his throne, holding his staff. He pointed to the general with the hook that replaced his left hand and said, "Assemble our army. Prepare our people for war. Evacuate the women, children, and anyone who is unable to fight. And have our communications officer on standby, in case we need to call for back-up."  
  
The general bowed and said, "Yes, my lord." He ran out of the room to carry out his orders.  
  
Once he was gone, Aquaman sighed and made his way to Mera's quarters. He knew she didn't want to be near him, but somebody had to tell her what was going on.  
  
Mera was in her room, fixing her hair when she heard a knock. She said, "Come in." She regretted it when she saw Orin walk in. She frowned and said, "Get out!"  
  
Aquaman sighed and bowed his head. "I can't do that," he said with his eyes closed. "The general has just informed me of an invasion force led by Orm. Atlantis is going to be at war, and I want you to get to safety."  
  
Mera frowned and said, "And you think I'm incapable of fighting this war."  
  
Orin walked over to her and touched her face, even though he knew she didn't want him to. "Please, Mera. You're the only one in my life that means more to me than our kingdom. And after what happened to our son, I don't want to see the same thing happen to you."  
  
For all her anger towards her ex-husband, Mera somehow felt sympathetic. She sighed and said, "Alright."  
  
For reassurance, Aquaman said, "But if you insist on staying at the palace, I'll post several guards to protect you, okay?"  
  
Mera smiled and said, "Okay."  
  
The fight had been going on for hours. The Atlantean evacuees could only listen. But then, silver robots broke into their hiding place. The innocent people could only scream helplessly as the robots slaughtered them. One of Aquaman's soldiers saw the tail end of this slaughtering. "Oh, no," he said. He got onto his communications unit and said, "My lord, come in."  
  
Aquaman tore into one of the robots' armor with his hook. He then proceeded to tear the wires out of it, but it somehow still functioned. He finally had to beat it into submission. His comm unit beeped and he said, "What is it?"  
  
The soldier on the other end said, "Some of those robots just slaughtered some of the evacuees. I was too late to help them."  
  
"Oh, no," said Aquaman with despair.  
  
Another soldier approached and said, "My lord, reports indicate that almost half our army is gone. At this rate, our entire kingdom will be wiped out within 6 hours."  
  
Aquaman turned away, closed his eyes and bowed his head. He had hoped it wouldn't come down to this, but he had no choice. He contacted his communications officer and said, "Make the call."  
  
At the Justice League's orbiting Watchtower, the Flash was sitting at the Monitors drinking an iced mocha. He said, "Man, am I glad my shift's almost up." He yawned as he added, "Monitor duty is so boring."  
  
But then an alarm caught his attention, causing him to fall over in his chair. "Whoa!" he yelled as he fell. He quickly got back up and rushed over to where the alarm was.  
  
Hawkgirl, who was supposed to have monitor duty next, flew to him and asked, "What is it?"  
  
Flash said, "It's an SOS. From Atlantis. I'll contact the others. You get the Javelin-7 ready." He sped off to the communications panels.  
  
Hawkgirl was surprised by this. Normally, the Flash was a happy-go-lucky guy who didn't seem to care about the littlest emergencies. But then she thought, 'Well, I DO know how to pilot the Javelin better than he does.'  
  
Soon, the entire Justice League was headed for Atlantis in the Javelin-7, even Batman. When they entered the water, Flash said, "Hey, Bats, I'm surprised you're coming with us on this mission."  
  
"This is important," said Batman in his usual grim tone of voice. "An entire race of people is hanging in the balance."  
  
"We're almost there," said Hawkgirl as she piloted the Javelin.  
  
"Keep a sharp eye out," said Superman as he looked out into the water.  
  
Some of the robots were hiding. They saw the Javelin-7 and began to open fire.  
  
As the League was rocked, Flash asked, "What the heck was that?"  
  
"Trouble," snarled Green Lantern as his eyes glowed green.  
  
"Come on," said Superman as he put on his underwater breathing mask. "Let's take them out."  
  
Green Lantern nodded as he surrounded himself with a protective green energy field.  
  
The hatch was opened and the Man of Steel and the Emerald Crusader took on the Ocean Master's robots. The robots fired on the two heroes. The shots bounced harmlessly off of Superman as he flew right through one. Green Lantern shot a blast from his ring, destroying one. He took out another with another shot. Superman cut one in half with his heat vision. He was shot in the back, but obviously wasn't affected too much. He turned to the culprit and flew through it, destroying it. The last robot attempted to face Superman face to face, but was cut in half from behind with a blast of green energy.  
  
"You okay?" asked Green Lantern once the last robot fell to the ocean floor.  
  
"Never better," said Superman with a smile. They then flew off to rejoin their teammates.  
  
Back in the Javelin, the rest of the League came upon some more enemy robots. "We've got company," said Hawkgirl.  
  
"Cover me," said J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. He turned intangible and exited the Javelin through the bottom. Hawkgirl began firing away on the robots, destroying three or four. J'onn went through one and came out with some vital parts, deactivating the robot. One tried to shoot him with its lasers, but the shot went right through him, destroying another robot. J'onn hovered in front of another robot. The two of them fired, destroying each other. Then Superman came along and flew through one, finishing it. J'onn watched the ordeal. Green Lantern then shot a blast from his power ring, destroying the last one.  
  
With that done, Superman said, "Let's go."  
  
Aquaman and a few of his soldiers had just destroyed some more robots when the Justice League approached. Superman cried, "Aquaman!" The King of Atlantis turned as he looked at Superman, GL, the Martian, and the Javelin. Soon Wonder Woman and Flash exited the Javelin wearing underwater breathing masks, Batman with a prototype Batsuit specifically designed for under the water and Hawkgirl wearing an underwater suit that allowed her wings to be useful underwater.  
  
Superman said, "We got your signal and responded as quickly as we could."  
  
"We also had a run-in with some robots," added GL.  
  
"They were assembled by Orm," explained Orin, "though I'm at a loss to explain how he got his hands on them. Now more than half my people are dead."  
  
"And soon, there won't even BE an Atlantis anymore!" said a voice.  
  
All turned to the source of the voice. There, inside the destroyed dome that surrounded Atlantis, stood the Ocean Master. He proudly said, "And if you want to know how I gained access to such an army, I made a pact with Darkseid. But don't bother showing this evidence to the New Gods if you make it out alive. This technology is not of Apokoliptan origin, so Darkseid can't be held responsible."  
  
As he started laughing, Aquaman screamed and tackled his half-brother. He started beating him to a pulp with his right fist. He raised his hook and said, "I should've done this a long time ago." He was about to bring the hook down when a hand stopped him.  
  
Aquaman looked up to see Batman as he shook his head in disapproval. "If you kill him," said the Dark Knight, "you prove yourself no better than he."  
  
The beaten Ocean Master then said, "You may . . . have beaten me . . . physically. But I've . . . already hit you . . . where it hurts." He smiled weakly as he passed out.  
  
"Hit you where it hurts?" asked Flash. "What does that mean?"  
  
Nobody was sure, but then Aquaman looked up suddenly as realization dawned on him. "Mera!"  
  
Aquaman returned to his palace and looked on in horror as he saw that it had been ransacked. He and the entire Justice League ran inside. There were several dead guards around the door to Mera's room. Aquaman ran in and picked up his ex-wife's bloodied and beaten body. He then noticed the stab wound in her stomach. "No, Mera! No!" he said as he cradled her.  
  
"Orin," came Mera's weak whisper.  
  
"Mera," said Orin as a look of hope came to her face. "Let's go. We can still get you to a doctor. We can still save you."  
  
"No," Mera said weakly. "It's too late . . . for me."  
  
"Mera, please!"  
  
"I'm sorry. There's nothing . . . that can save me." She touched his face and said, "Just . . . hold me." He gladly obeyed. Time seemed to stand still for them. Mera then asked, "Orin . . . do you . . . still love me?"  
  
Aquaman smiled sadly and said, "I never stopped."  
  
Mera smiled weakly and said, "I'm sorry . . . for the way . . . I've treated you. Can you . . . forgive me?  
  
"There is nothing to forgive. You have nothing to be sorry for."  
  
Mera smiled one last time. She touched Orin's cheek and said, "Orin . . . I love you." She tried to kiss him. Aquaman helped her by pulling her to his lips. The kiss never stopped until Mera's head fell limp. And Aquaman knew: Mera, Queen of Atlantis, was dead.  
  
Aquaman gently laid his ex-wife's lifeless body on the ground. He then bowed his head and closed his eyes, grateful that the Justice League couldn't see the tear rolling down his cheek. Superman walked over and placed and hand on his shoulder while the rest of them bowed their heads in respect. "I'm sorry," said Superman quietly. "We all are."  
  
Aquaman did not react. For several moments, he just sat there. Finally, he threw his arms into the air and screamed, "ORM!"  
  
The eight heroes eventually went out to finish the battle. The Ocean Master had recovered and escaped, leaving his robotic army behind to finish his dirty work. Aquaman and the Justice League finished off the killer robots, but the cost was dear:  
  
Atlantis was no more.  
  
When it was all over, the eight of them were in what remained of Aquaman's palace. As he looked out over his destroyed kingdom, Aquaman bowed his head in sadness. Martian Manhunter approached him and asked, "Are you alright, Aquaman?"  
  
Aquaman said, "No." He then raised his voice and angrily turned to the Martian, saying, "Look at this! My entire kingdom, my people, my LIFE is gone, and you're asking me if I'm alright?" He took some breaths and calmed down. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be," said J'onn. "I know exactly what it's like to see everyone and everything I know taken away."  
  
"What are you gonna do now?" asked the Flash.  
  
Aquaman turned away and said, "Leave me. With my kingdom gone, my life no longer has purpose."  
  
Superman put a hand on his shoulder and said, "I disagree." Aquaman looked at the Man of Steel, wondering what he was talking about.  
  
Back at the Watchtower, Superman and Aquaman were smiling and shaking hands. The rest of the League was looking on.  
  
Superman smiled and said, "Welcome to the Justice League." 


End file.
